Holiday Inn Charleston Historic District
Welcome to Charleston's perfect blend of historic charm and modern features - The Prestigious Torchbearer award winning Holiday Inn Historic District. Located on the corner of Calhoun and Meeting Streets, you are within steps of all the beauty and history Charleston has to offer. …more

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Holiday Inn Charleston - Riverview
The Holiday Inn Charleston Riverview Hotel is a unique 14-story circular high-rise hotel, located on the banks of the Ashley River overlooking the skylights of historic Charleston, just minutes from the business district and historic downtown. …more

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About Charleston

Elegant and cultured, Charleston is one of the South's most romantic places. Timeworn cobblestone streets, battered Civil War fortifications and picturesque plantations trigger imaginings of another era, while upscale hotels and restaurants in impeccably restored landmarks offer 21st-century luxuries that keep guests grounded in the present.

Charleston's oldest neighborhoods serve as galleries for a remarkable collection of architectural finery. The Preservation Society of Charleston counts more than 4,800 historic structures within the extensive Old and Historic District, from Colonial-era churches to pastel-hued rowhouses to statuesque mansions. House museums offer intimate glimpses into the lifestyles of early planters, merchants, statesmen--the Charleston elite--and historic inns pamper guests as if they were.

Next to its architecture, gardens are Charleston's pride. Everybody has one, whether it's a simple curbside patch or a grand statuary showplace. Public squares and parks bloom with color year-round, and if you're lucky enough to be in town for a spring or holiday tour, you can glimpse the secret world behind iron gates and garden walls. The city that epitomizes Southern gentility receives visitors graciously and treats them like old friends. Hospitality here is genuine and infectious. By the time you leave Chawl-ston, you'll be talking with a Southern accent and moving at a pace slower than a stroll. And there's nothing wrong with that, ya'll.

Preservation is a way of life in Charleston. From stately antebellum houses to the more utilitarian single houses that shoulder the narrow streets, this 300-year-old city is renowned for its splendid architecture. Embellished with fanciful wrought-iron work as intricate as window frost, and painted sparkling whites, pastels or whimsical rainbow hues, Charleston's houses delight the eye.

Though easygoing and elegant, Charleston gave America its first decisive victory in the Revolutionary War and the first defiant shots of the Civil War. A pioneer in civic affairs, the city established the country's first municipal chamber of commerce, municipal college and public museum. In 1931 it passed the first historic district zoning ordinance to preserve its architectural heritage. Charleston's historic district encompasses more than 2,000 buildings: 73 predate the Revolutionary War, 136 date from the late 1700s and more than 600 others were built in the early 1800s.

The Battery, the waterfront along the edge of the historic district, offers fine views of the harbor. North of The Battery along E. Bay Street is a particularly colorful collection of houses known as Rainbow Row. A distinctive residential style is the single house, a narrow structure one room wide and two rooms deep with its gabled end, rather than its front, facing the street. Often a single house includes a piazza--the city's version of a veranda--and the pride of any Charleston home: a garden.

Nowhere does Charleston flaunt its beauty more than in its gardens. From the magnificent scale of the nearby plantation gardens to the more modest but equally enchanting walled gardens in the city, the area's lavish floral displays are known throughout the world. Charlestonians proudly show many of their private residences and gardens during the spring and fall tours of houses.